


Seasonal Knittings

by Soofdope



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2850770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soofdope/pseuds/Soofdope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Carmilla secretly loves Christmas, Laura is a knitter, and external circumstances have everyone spend Christmas together at Silas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seasonal Knittings

**Author's Note:**

> My gift to tumblr user chasingstarsin-neverland for the Creampuff Secret Santa. Thank you for the headcanons, and I hope you enjoy!

Laura’s first suspicions arise when, one day mid-November, as Carmilla brushes past her while she’s typing away at an overdue paper, she overhears something that sounds suspiciously like _Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree_ , and, wait a second, did that really come from _Carmilla’s earbuds_? Laura blinks several times at her girlfriend, who is either entirely oblivious or just ignoring her, and plops down onto her bed. Laura watches her pick up a book, and stares a few seconds longer, before she shakes her head, determines that she must have misheard, and returns, with a sigh, to her paper.

It’s only a few days later when she actually hears Carmilla hum _Deck the Halls_ , and this time she really is sure, especially because when Carmilla catches her staring, the humming stops abruptly, her cheeks reddening as she mumbles something that Laura can’t make out and she exits the room. Nearly an hour passes before she returns, and when she does, she avoids Laura’s gaze until she’s sure Laura’s not going to bring it up again.

On the first of December, Laura returns from an afternoon class to find their entire room decorated. There is a wreath on the door, multi-colored Christmas lights line the entire length of a wall while garlands hang above the window, the bathroom door, the kitchen area. One is draped over her computer screen. An advent calendar is stuck to the wall on Laura’s side of the room, just above her bed, some of its little pockets bulging with the small items inside. There is even a tiny Christmas tree on Laura’s headboard, complete with small silver and gold ornaments and a tiny star at the top. Carmilla greets her casually from behind her book, and when Laura doesn’t respond, just stands in the doorway with her mouth open, the vampire lifts an eyebrow, as if to challenge her to mention the difference in scenery. It takes Laura a few more seconds after this to close her mouth and shut the door behind her. She’s finished unpacking her school supplies when she turns back to Carmilla. “I love it,” she smiles back to her girlfriend, whose eyes stay on the page of her book, but her face lights up in a smile. “Maybe you should check the calendar,” she says in a tone that is meant to be casual, and flips a page.

Of course everyone thinks Laura’s responsible for the Christmas decorations. Granted, she had been talking rather excitedly just a few days ago about going shopping for presents, and the Christmas traditions she has with her dad, and she really does enjoy the holiday season, but to be quite honest, she hadn’t even planned to hang up any decorations. She’d thought that Carmilla wouldn’t care much for it, anyway, and since they would both be flying out to her dad’s for Christmas, it seemed pointless to decorate their dorm room.

Carmilla obviously thought otherwise, and when Perry mentions the next day just how beautiful it all looks, and Laura catches the slight quirk of Carmilla’s lips, she almost tells Perry the truth. But, she reasons, if Carmilla is only barely able to share her apparent obsession with Christmas with Laura, then she will probably want to uphold her reputation as a broody vampire in front of everyone else. At least for the time being. So Laura doesn’t correct Perry, just thanks her instead. 

It’s December 3rd when Laura finds a small stash of neatly wrapped presents under Carmilla’s bed. There’s two labelled Cupcake, and one for LaFontaine. There’s even one labelled Amazon, which surprises Laura until she considers that she doesn’t know what the package contains yet, and its contents may very well be something extremely unpleasant. Carmilla and Danny may have reached a stage of slightly reluctant tolerance of each other after the battle and Danny carrying Carmilla back to the dorm, but they’re still a very long way from anything resembling friendship.

With this discovery, and the thought that maybe she should get cracking on her own present for Carmilla, Laura quickly decides to do the only sensible thing in this kind of situation, and she sets out to knit Carmilla a Christmas sweater. She manages to get her measurements without the vampire noticing, and starts working on her project whenever Carmilla’s either asleep or away. It’s been a while since she’s knit something, but she finds that muscle memory is a great thing. Her dad taught her one rainy Saturday afternoon when she was ten, and it’s been a hobby of hers ever since, something to do when her hands are restless or she just needs to get her mind off of everything else. She still has fond memories of them both working on their own projects in the couch, while a movie they’d both seen at least twenty times played in the background.

Knitting is kind of an all-or-nothing kind of thing for Laura. Either she’s not doing it at all, which has been the case for the last year and a half, or she’s spending multiple hours a day on it and has to refrain from bringing her work to class. So whenever she’s interrupted and has to hastily hide everything underneath a pillow, it always takes her a few minutes to think of something else to do. Carmilla grows suspicious after only a few days, but knows better than to ask once she gets confirmation that Laura’s secrecy has nothing to do with anything being physically, mentally, or emotionally wrong.

Laura’s only got a week left when she decides to spend an afternoon in Perry and Lafontaine’s room with her nearly-finished sweater, because she can’t deal with the interruptions anymore, and just wants to be done with it. She settles in at LaF’s desk, because they’re sitting on their bed with several biology books and different stacks of notes spread out before them. Apart from the occasional chit-chat, they’re both fairly quiet. They stay that way until Perry arrives, greeting Laura cheerfully before giving LaF a peck on the lips. It only takes one glance at the sweater Laura’s knitting for a frown to form on Perry’s face and for her gaze to shift quickly to LaF before she mutters: “Uhm, Laura, dear?”

“Hmm?” she replies absent-mindedly, barely looking up from her work. Another two hours or so, and she’ll be done, she guesses.

“I thought you said you were knitting this for Carmilla?” Laura looks up because she can hear the concern and confusion in Perry’s voice.

“I am,” she replies, nonplussed. Perry glances toward LaF again, then back to Laura.

“Sweetie, I think you may have messed up the proportions a little.”

“What?” Laura responds, lifting the sweater to look at her work. “No, it’s fine, I’m sure. I took measurements,” she assures the floor don, but Perry doesn’t seem very convinced. She swats LaFontaine on the arm, who takes their first proper look at the sweater, says: “I kind of have to agree with Perr here, Laura. It’s looking a bit… weird. She may be tiny, but I don’t think even she could squeeze herself into those sleeves.”

“Really, you guys, it’s fine,” Laura repeats, “I’m sure.” Perry seems to give up, but she sighs in a way that tells Laura she’ll be the first in line to tell her _I told you so_ if the sweater ends up not fitting.

\------------

One day before Laura and Carmilla are supposed to take their plane, and three days before Christmas, Silas is hit by some kind of freak snowstorm, covering everything in a coat of snow thick enough to swim in, which seems entirely unfazed by any kind of shoveling attempt and just returns to where it came from when it feels like it. 

Nobody knows exactly where it comes from or what has caused it, but everyone seems to agree that the Alchemy Club is somehow involved. Nobody’s able to reach the building in which they gather for their thrice-weekly meetings and their hibernation period that occurs roughly every seven years, since anyone who tries is violently attacked by the snow and dragged under its surface. Not all are lucky enough to re-emerge. 

By the next day, limited travelling between certain buildings is possible, thanks to the combined efforts of the Zetas and the Summer Society to keep the students who venture outside safe, but getting off-campus is entirely impossible for anyone who does not wish to die a painful death.

There is no way Laura and Carmilla can make it to their plane alive and in time. Carmilla could probably make it out in one piece, but there’s no way she can ensure Laura’s safety. In any case, even if they were to make it out, there would still be the issue of getting to the actual airport without any form of transport.

Laura calls her dad, tells him all about the snowstorm except the supernatural elements to it – which is most of it, really – but for once she’s happy with her dad’s overbearing nature, because he quickly agrees that these are no conditions to travel in. Laura promises to keep him updated on the weather conditions and whether or not they’ll be able to catch a later flight, and throws her flip phone on the bed as soon as she hangs up. 

It isn’t until the morning of the 24th that Laura officially gives up. When she’s not in the process of being hunted down, nearly eaten, or otherwise narrowly escaping death, she really does enjoy her life at Silas, especially since her and Carmilla’s relationship shifted from roommates, to friends, to more, and she found new ways to get the vampire to clean up her messes (the hair in the shower drain is still a work in progress). And her dad’s overprotectiveness and strict rules can certainly be a drag, but she really had been looking forward to seeing him for Christmas and being back home for a little while. Even introducing Camilla to him, as terrifying as that prospect still seems.

Perry and LaFontaine haven’t made any plans to return to their families for the holidays (Perry never celebrated until she met LaFontaine, who just said that they wouldn’t have much to look forward to at home anyway), so the four of them end up spending Christmas Eve in Laura and Carmilla’s room. Perry does most of the cooking, and she does a remarkable job considering their limited resources. LaFontaine and Carmilla go to get the table in LaF and Perry’s room, so that they can “eat like civilized people” – Perry’s words – and they actually manage to spend a very pleasant evening together.

Danny shows up for a little while later that night, every inch of her covered in snow. She’s been spending most of the evening with her Summer Society sisters and is planning to go back soon, but she says that she didn’t want to spend the entire evening without seeing them. Laura smiles brightly at the tall girl, who places herself, wet pants and all, on the bed next to Laura, who scoots a little closer to Carmilla to make room for her. LaF immediately pours Danny a drink, and they all sit at the table for a little while, exchanging pleasantries. It’s almost like before. Almost. Laura makes a conscious effort to lower the amount of PDA, because she knows that despite their long talk a little while ago and the fact that they’re officially friends again, being around Laura and Carmilla is still a bit hard for her. Carmilla catches on fast, nods at the look Laura gives her, and settles for just scooting slightly closer to her girlfriend. 

Perry is the first one who caves and hands everyone their presents. Each neatly wrapped package has a handmade card attached to it, and she makes them all read them before opening their gifts. 

LaFontaine gets something called Snap Circuits Jr., which, judging by their reaction, is some sort of inside joke. Laura receives a book full of quick and easy recipes, Carmilla gets a stylish travel mug (“to keep the blood cold,” Perry says casually, and God, has she come a long way), and Danny’s gift is a pair of alpaca gloves.

They watch as Perry opens her present from LaFontaine, the tight smile on her face as she brings up the pipettes to show to everyone, before LaFontaine laughs and hands Perry her real present. It’s that book about pickling she’s been talking about for the last month or so, and Perry hugs LaFontaine close as soon as she’s torn off enough of the wrapping paper to expose the very familiar cover.

Carmilla receives a sleeping mask with the words “bite me” on it in bright red letters, and LaFontaine guiltily admits to Laura and Danny that they hadn’t found anything for the two of them yet before the snowstorm hit, but they’ll get it to them if they ever make it out alive.

When it’s Danny’s turn, Laura is handed a rectangular, rather heavy gift. She opens it to find a cookie jar in the shape of a TARDIS. “To match your mug,” Danny explains. LaFontaine gets a pocket microscope, and Perry receives a Lush gift card.

Carmilla opens her gift with particular care, and even Laura notices herself holding her breath as the wrapping paper is slowly pulled away to reveal the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s quiet for a full two seconds, then Carmilla bursts out laughing. The rest follow her lead. Even Perry is unable to hide a snicker. Danny seems rather pleased with herself. 

Laura is practically vibrating by the time Carmilla’s presents are handed out.

Perry gets high-quality, freshly ground coffee. Danny’s present reveals a Xena t-shirt, and she shakes her head with a laugh before putting it on. Carmilla wears an extremely smug grin for a solid few minutes.

LaFontaine gets a card that reads _valid for one hour-long session of whatever scientific prodding you’ve been dying to do to me_ , which makes them stare in unabashed wonder at Carmilla, barely able to voice a tiny “thank you”. “Within reason,” Carmilla just warns. Then she turns to Laura. She takes the last two gifts, takes a few seconds to decide, then hands the larger of the two to Laura.

She tries not to seem overly eager as she gets rid of the wrapping paper. It’s a book, that much she can tell from its shape, but she’s still surprised when a rather worn copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is revealed. She’s already got two, a paperback to read and a hardcover to stand there and look pretty, but she’s never seen this version. She opens it up to the first page.

“Carmilla,” Laura says quietly, looks up at her girlfriend with wide eyes. “This is a first edition.” 

Carmilla nods proudly. “I picked it up in the fifties, but I think you like it more than I do.”

Laura looks back down at the book, staring at it in disbelief. “You do like it, right?” Carmilla asks after a few seconds of silence, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Laura looks back up at Carmilla with a wide smile. “Are you kidding me? I _love_ it.”

Carmilla grins. “Open the other one,” she instructs. It’s a silver necklace of the silhouette of a cat, and Laura makes Carmilla put it on immediately, setting a kiss to her cheek when she’s done. “Thank you,” she whispers, hoping that the words can convey the amount of gratitude she feels. Suddenly her Christmas sweater seems entirely foolish.

Danny announces that it’s time for her to go before Laura gets a chance to hand out her presents. A few of the Summer Society girls have come to their building to pick Danny up, so that she doesn’t have to brave the snow on her own. She puts on her thick coat, slips Laura’s present in one of the pockets when it’s handed to her, and thanks everyone for the great time. Then she picks up her javelin and shield, and is out the door a second later.

Laura hands LaFontaine and Perry their presents, and looks on as they open them, rubbing Carmilla’s leg to indicate that she hasn’t forgotten about her. LaFontaine rips open their gift, and seems rather happy with their Portal-themed bookends. Perry takes a little longer to open hers, as she refuses to unnecessarily damage the wrapping paper and opens it only along the taped areas. Once she gets there, she thanks her for the pug mug, and Laura smiles before turning to Carmilla.

A blush spreads over her cheek as she hands Carmilla her present. She knows that it pales in comparison to a first edition Dracula and an expensive necklace, but she supposes there’s nothing she can do about that now. 

Carmilla smiles once she sees the rolled-up sweater. “Did you make this?” she asks, and Laura nods. Carmilla takes it by the shoulders to lift it up for a better look. She frowns. 

“You don’t like it?” Laura asks, in a tone that implies that her whole world just collapsed.

“No, it’s not that,” Carmilla says immediately, looking back to Laura in what she hopes is a reassuring way. “It’s just… well… this will never fit,” she admits.

Laura actually pouts. “But I took measurements.”

Carmilla takes another look at the sweater, to check if maybe she misjudged. It takes another few seconds for it to dawn on her.

Oh. _Oh_. It isn’t for her, per se. It’s for her cat form.

“Oh,” she says out loud now. “Yeah, that’ll probably fit.” Laura seems instantly happier, and after glancing to see that Perry and LaFontaine are otherwise occupied, rants for a little bit about how she’s noticed how much Carmilla loves Christmas, but that she also apparently needs to keep this a secret from other people, which she _totally_ respects, and so she knitted this for “Catmilla” instead.

“Don’t,” Carmilla says, narrowing her eyes at the sound of the nickname. Laura just smiles wider, so Carmilla returns her attention to the sweater. She covers her face with her hands, and Laura’s not sure what that means until she hears her laughing. Carmilla, still smiling when she lowers her hands, bends forward and kisses her. 

“Only you would do this,” she says against her lips, and Laura can still feel her smile. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks, sounding a little insulted. Carmilla leans back, strokes Laura’s cheek lovingly.

“It means I love it.”


End file.
